Row Like a Girl finished second in the event after completing the voyage on Friday, being beaten by a vessel of four male rowers, Ocean Reunion.

Purdy said the crossing had been hugely difficult at times: “There’s no doubt that there were times where you question your sanity, sitting in the middle of the Atlantic in a rowing boat, oars in and a massive storm tossing you around the ocean.

“The feeling though of pure ecstasy to see the finishing line, to see our families and friends after 40 days made it all worth it. It has been an extraordinary journey with three of the most amazing girls.”

The Row Like a Girl team celebrate at the end of their 2,700 nautical mile journey. Photograph: Ben Duffy/PA

Despite occasionally heavy seas and hurricane-force winds the trip has gone noticeably better than crew member Morton’s attempt to row the Indian Ocean in 2013. Rowing as a pair with another friend, she was rescued by a cargo ship after 96 days at sea.

The race is an unsupported challenge, with the women keeping up a schedule of two hours of rowing followed by two hours of sleep or maintaining the boat.

The British rowers are also aiming to raise £50,000 for Plan UK’s campaign, which campaigns for the rights of girls and young women to overcome issues such as poverty, domestic violence and lack of access to education.